A Little Change
by Ithilas
Summary: Sometimes the biggest threats are because of who your family is rather than the person that you could grow to be.  His mother is dead and his grandfather wouldn't trust Stoick with raising a flea so Hiccup is taken to a 'family friend'.
1. Blood Debt

A Little Change

Summary: Sometimes the biggest threats are because of who your family is rather than the person that you could grow to be. His mother is dead and his grandfather wouldn't trust Stoick with raising a flea so Hiccup is taken to a 'family friend'.

Mama was gone.

Mama was gone and Papa was _crying_ which was just so wrong because he was Papa and Papa didn't cry because Papa was a Viking and Vikings don't cry. Small chin wobbling as fat tears splashed down his face Hiccup curled up against the tall tree he'd been resting under since he'd run after his Papa had told him Mama had to go away. He didn't want Mama to go away but when he'd said that Papa had just looked at him like he'd said something sa-cri-li-geous and he knew he hadn't so did that mean that Mama left because he was bad? Anguished brown eyes squeezed shut tightly as a keen slipped through his trembling lips and he curled himself tighter into a fetal position as he gripped tightly to the edges of his cloak. The soft sounds of footsteps moving through the dense forest had him stiffening before he relaxed as he felt a hand come to rest on his head.

"Child."

Green eyes shot open at the unknown voice as he jerked upright looking around wildly for the voice's owner before coming to rest on a slender man kneeling next to him. Shrinking back from the man his mind whirled in a mad tumble of thoughts because he didn't know this man and if he didn't know him then his Papa wouldn't have sent him. "Does Stoick know that you are out here?" Stoick? Stoick was Papa and if he knew Stoick was Papa, then that meant he knew Papa! As sudden as the twisted logic of his thoughts, came the sobering realization that if Papa had sent someone to go looking then that would mean he was in trouble, but if he was trouble did that mean Papa would leave too?

"Child it is cold and there is only so much even a God can do to keep you from becoming ill if you stay out here alone." Squeaking in surprise as he was hoisted from the ground into warm arms he stared at the man's oddly colored eyes that seemed to shift and twirl in a way that reminded him of a fire on a cold winter's night. Fingers twisting tightly around fur edged fabric as he was shifted around he watched with wide eyes as the man stood and began to pick a path through the forest leading away from the village. "There is much that your mother would have told you had she known how little time she had left but such things are controlled by the Gods and no mortal hand may change that."

Mama… He knew Mama! Twisting and squirming he turned an expectant gaze onto the man. "You know Mama? Do you know where she went?" Cheeks flushed as crystalline tears slid down them, he hid his face against the man's cloak clad shoulder his voice choked as he tried to force the words through the ball stuck in his throat. "Tell Mama I'm sorry! I'm sorry for whatever I did! I'm really, really sorry and I promise I won't do it ever again but she has to come back. Please! Please tell my Mama to come back."

Sniffling as he rubbed his face against the fine fabric of the cloak he was gripping onto tightly he missed the look of fury that lit the man's features. "Child. Little one, if there is blame to be found then it is not to be placed on your shoulders. Look at me and know that I speak only the truth." Whining softly at the gentle press of fingers pulling his face away from the comfortable shoulder it was resting against he looked up to meet the man's eyes that seemed to flicker through different shades of blue. "Were it your mother's choice she would never have left your side but fate is a fickle thing determined by the threads woven before birth. And just as surely as your mother met her fate you will one day meet yours but not yet if I have anything to say about it."

"Who are you?"

Eyes wide with innocence, and the beginnings of a vague suspicion gathered in a mind too young to understand, watched as the man smiled. But it wasn't like the smile his Mama would give him or even the smile from his Papa when he would do something to the man's liking. This smile was full of sharp and pointy things that meant lots of owwies and wrappings for anyone this man didn't like but just as swiftly as the smile appeared it was replaced by a look of fondness that reminded him quite a bit of the way Gobber would look at him. "What you do not know cannot be used to harm you so for now let us say that you may call me Lóður."

Adjusting his hold on the child in his arms he hid a frown at the realization that the child was far too thin to be healthy. Heimdall's thrice-damned suspicion had kept him from visiting the village and in turn it had been months since he had seen the only humans he knew of that shared his blood. He hated the human his daughter had chosen with a fervor normally reserved for the annoyance that called itself Heimdall. Disgusting as it was that he'd been forced to trust the man to take care of his blood kin, he dared not draw more of Heimdall's suspicions to the tiny region Berk was located in and so he'd been unable to ensure that the child would have a more than generous supply of food to last through the harsh winter.

Hmming absently to the child's nonstop talking (and where in Odin's name had he come into contact with _trolls_?) he paused for a moment to gather his bearings before he made a slight adjustment to the path they were taking through the forest. Listening to the child (his daughter's child) talk acted as a soothing balm to the ragged wounds that had been ripped open at the realization that his daughter had died as a mockery of justice. Justice from the other Aesir because he refused to fall in line like an obedient sheep following its herder. Valhallarama was his child! His daughter! She was his and she'd been taken from him and her son without a moment's pause in one of Frigg's (many and oftentimes laughable) attempts at changing the future.

Smiling grimly as he patted the child's head his grip on the small body tightened. Frigg had taken one of his children while the Norns threatened his others born well before the birth of the tiny daughter that had captured his heart from the moment her finger had wrapped ever so tightly around his own. It was cruel of him to have favorites among his children but he found himself unable to deny the fact that he adored the child in his arms partly because he was all he had left of his daughter. His daughter who had gifted him with this child whose very blood seemed to sing with his power as he danced through the mists that separated Gods and mortals with nary a thought as to whether or not it should be possible. They would kill him if given the chance or the knowledge of his existence. He would take the boy to Thor's creation and he would bind them both into hiding from eyes both mortal and immortal. The price he would pay for such an act would be immense in terms of power but he would have little use for such power once the consequences of his actions fell upon him. He would have his thirst for vengeance quenched with blood and Frigg's tears but first he would see the boy safe and his plots could come later.

"Hiccup we're going to go visit a friend of your Mama's that she wanted you to stay with in case she couldn't be there to care for you. I need you to be brave for me when we meet him so that you don't scare him. Can you do that for me?"

He watched as fear and uncertainty warred across the boy's far too open face. He would need to see to it that the boy learned to hide such open emotion but he was still young and age would give him the veils needed to escape. "You're the one Mama told me about." The little face was somber as green eyes became flecked with amber as they traced his face in search of something the sorrow lining the young face absent as the boy struggled to remember something. "Mama said that if her Papa ever came to take me away that I needed to go and listen to what you told me."

"Your mother told you that I would come to take you away?" Raw surprise stole his breath away as he pushed the slightly breathy words out. "When did she you tell you this?"

The boy nodded, his head tilting to one side as he looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Mama played with the bones and made me swear that I'd go with you 'cause you'd protect me for her and Papa."

"Your mother was right. I will protect you and while I will have to leave you behind for a long time I will make sure that you have someone to care for you." Pushing aside a branch blocking his path he knelt down to set the child on his feet his hands coming to rest atop slender shoulders. "I swear to you that you will always be safe even if you are not always happy. I will not lie to you and tell you that I am a good person because I'm not but I do protect those that are mine."

"Mama said you would say that too but that I was s'posed to ignore that because you were a good Papa."

His eyes widened in shock as the boy leaned forward to place a soft kiss along his cheek the sweet scent of the child wafting through the air. Eyes fluttering shut he tugged the child into his arms pressing his face into the silky strands of hair. "I need you to swear to me that you will live well and that you will do your best to make your mother proud. Never doubt her love for you because she loved you so much that to be taken from you was a source of many a nightmare for her." His voice was rough with emotion as he willed away the moisture gathered at the edges of his eyes before he pulled away from the child. Standing he held out a hand to the now sniffling child and gently guided him the last few feet that separated them from their destination. Squeezing the small hand reassuringly as he pushed aside the boulders that blocked the rocky cove he tugged the child behind him as fear-filled green eyes took in the black form sprawled along the rocks. Pushing the child forward he waited as amber eyes snapped open and took in his warning glare before focusing on the small child shivering in front of him.

"Hiccup this is your mother's friend."

"The birthing just took too long and she was so weak Elder Gothi thought that she would die from the blood loss alone." Tired brown eyes stared down at the worn tabletop steadfastly ignoring the slim red haired man sitting across from him. "The child never even drew its first breath and then she became so ill afterwards. We had to keep Hiccup out and only Gothi was allowed in there at the end when the fever took her mind and she forgot to keep her secrets unspoken."

"Is she to be trusted?"

"Yes." Rubbing at his eyes Stoick forced himself to focus on the God that chose to masquerade as a man. "She was the only one Valhallarama would allow in when she gave birth to Hiccup. She refused every other midwife except for Elder Gothi because she said the runes had shown her that the Elder could be trusted to hold our secrets safe."

"Frigg learned of the circumstances behind my daughter's birth and so she struck out at me the only way she could. She is the one that blesses a woman's birth and helps to ease it so that both mother and child remain safe and alive." The man leaned back in his chair one arm draped along its back as he sighed wearily. "You know the stories of Ragnarok as well as any man might so you know the part that me and mine will have to play. Frigg saw something that scared her into acting out against me and in doing so she has sealed her own fate."

"I won't let you use Hiccup in your mad schemes, Loki." Stoick growled as he lifted his head to glare at the God sitting across from him. "Leave the boy out of your plotting. He has nothing to do with it."

"Nothing to do with it, you say?" Smiling as one eyebrow rose in silent question Loki snapped his fingers watching with disinterest as the man jumped in surprise from the noise of the flames in the fire pit roaring to life. "Let us be plain as we speak so as to avoid any misunderstandings. I allowed you to live only because my daughter for some unknown reason actually loved you and the only reason you still live is so that my grandchild will not be made an orphan by the hand of his grandfather."

"You dare—."

"Sit down and know your place for once in your pathetic mortal life, Stoick!" Loki roared as the Viking stood, his chair behind him toppling as the man reached for his axe. "Do you think that this will all end simply because Valhallarama was taken from us? Is your mind honestly too simple to understand that the plots of Gods are far trickier than those conceived by mortal minds?"

"He is my son!"

"He is my heir and I have shown that child more care in the 3 hours I spent with him than you have shown him in his 5 summers of life. It astounds me that an idiot such as you could have become one of Thor's favorites." The God stood and began to pace with the fire pit still crackling merrily with flames flickering through shades of red and blue. "I swear by my mother's blood that if I could kill you I would do so but Hiccup's love for you stays my hand. The child told me that his mother made preparations for him in the event of her death. Am I to assume that you were informed of these preparations as well?"

"Yes." Stoick ground the words out through gritted teeth his eyes cold as he glared at the God pacing the length of his home. "The village has been told that Valhallarama's people have come to take Hiccup away so that he can be raised with them. She knew that she would pay for your misdeeds and so she prepared for that retribution."

"Ah so there is one thing we agree on which is altogether surprising considering that you are generally a most disagreeable person." The Gods slow smirk was feral as shadowed eyes reflected the fire's flames. "She did pay for my actions but I will see to it that this debt is paid in blood."

A/N: So the person responsible for this little bunny knows exactly who she is and if she doesn't then I'll be happy to remind her that she fed the bunny. Either way, this all started because of someone telling me how cute it would have been to have seen a 5-6 year old Hiccup instead of the older dork that we all know and love. My muses decided that there was room enough for a little Hiccup and hence this story was born.

Once again, Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Schemes and Promises

**I cannot apologize enough for how long this has taken. Thank you so much to those that have reviewed especially recently because your reviews inspired me to drag this off of the flash drive and finish it. The next chapter shouldn't take anywhere near as long.**

The sun had only just begun its descent below the horizon when the smell of ozone filled his nose and he knew without turning who his unexpected visitor was. The breeze carried in from the ocean played with his cloak causing it to flap about his ankles while he stared aimlessly ahead and waited for his companion to speak. "Lóður." Hearing his name shouldn't have caused him to flinch yet it did so all the same, leaving him with the sobering realization that he had been found and by the one being that he'd hoped would not find him. "The All-Father is worried. He will not speak of it but there is something he has seen that has caused him great distress. He has commanded us to search for you but will not tell us why it is that you are sought so urgently."

_He will not speak of it. He cannot… Of all of them, Thor is the least deserving of the poisonous nature his tongue has held of late. He cannot— will not speak and yet_, "He should not have sent you."

"The All-Father believed that I held the best chance of finding you out of everyone that he sent." A warm hand settled itself on his shoulder with a squeeze that did nothing to chase away the chill settling into his very bones. "Troubles are meant to be shared my friend and do naught but poison your heart when you hold them so very tightly because you refuse to share what ails you."

"Not all troubles can be shared Thor. Some troubles are meant to be kept quiet because to do otherwise would invite only trouble to one who should not be bothered with such things."

"I am capable of protecting my own hearth whilst at the same time offering assistance in the protection of your own."

"No," he replied calmly though his heart was racing and he felt as though he might become physically ill at even the mere thought of Thor standing beside him when he took the first steps along the path designed by the Norns. "This is my path and mine alone. I would hold no right to claim your friendship were I to offer you this path I take."

"You speak as though you plan to march to your death." A pensive frown lined Thor's brow and marred what should have been free of such worries and the self-hatred he felt well up in knowing that it only showed because of his actions surprised him. "I confess that I am not the most learned of the Æsir and never will I claim to be such but one would have to be counted amongst the most ignorant of humans to miss that which you imply by your words or rather in the words that you will not say. You mean to die and because you believe this will be a dishonorable death you will keep your secrets safe from my clumsy attempts to pry."

"You said once, that there was no greater honor than to fall in defense of one's own." He said as Thor began to move away and he cursed himself for speaking because the blonde stopped and waited for him to continue. _He needs to stop talking—he knows that he does so why is it that he is now so incapable of stopping his mouth from opening and speaking words that should remain unspoken?_ Speaking now only invites Thor to pry further into the circumstances behind Odin's order. As much as he would welcome his friend's assistance he knew that to accept it would be a poor way to repay the loyalty that his friend has always given him. "The consequences of my actions will be my own and I tell you this as gratitude for the friendship you have always given me."

"Have I wronged you or those you call kin? Is this why you now believe me to be untrustworthy?"

"Never," he replied with a shake of his head. His own frown is now carved so deeply that he wondered if he would ever be rid of the lines caused by such stress and worry. As a trickster, he is rarely if ever, caught in such somber moods and almost never, where it can be witnessed by others, but he knew that regardless of what may come, that Thor will never seek to take advantage of this weakness he shows all too willingly. Tilting his head to the side as he mused over the turn his thoughts have taken he reached out before he was able to stop himself and before he even realized that a decision had been made. "I leave something very precious to me in the care of the creature you brought to life with Hel's assistance. I know that I have no right to ask this, but I will do so because I fear that the child will require more assistance and protection than even one of your Blessed can provide."

"Lóður what is it you mean to do that you will be forced to leave one of your own Blessed with the Night's Fury?" Features nearly hidden by the waning light he heard the tone of alarm sharpening the Thunder God's voice and steeled himself for what he knew must come next. "What madness has so taken hold of you that the All Father is moved into sending the entirety of the Æsir out to Midgard to search for you whilst you stand here talking to me as though this is to be our farewell?"

"I met a woman nigh on twenty nine of Midgard's winters ago and almost two winters after our first meeting she presented me with a girl child that I acknowledged as my own and named in honor of Valhalla. She captured my fickle heart as none of my children have ever before done and Odin help me, I loved her as much as any sire may love their child."

"Is she now to be found in the Halls of the Slain?"

He laughed the bitter sound echoing around them and he covered his eyes to conceal the moisture gathering there as he breathed deeply to quell the turbulent emotions twisting about in his heart. "Frigg twisted the Blessing of Birth into a curse which bars my daughter from ever being granted admittance to the Halls where she would once have been welcomed. She had her firstborn late in life because she was a Shield Maiden and would not hear of children until she had proven herself in battle. How often have I laughed and jeered at Frigg's attempts to prevent the future woven by the Norns only to be struck low by her meddling?" Sighing deeply as he lowered his hand from his eyes and straightened the edges of his cloak, he looked up to meet Thor's gaze. "In trying to prevent the future she has only ensured that it will come to pass because she will find justice at my hands and as I paid for her misdeeds in blood so shall she. I only regret that in doing so I will lose your respect and friendship that has ever been offered to me without artifice."

"Lóður… "

"Fare well Thor and may we never meet again." Mouth quirked up at one end in a frail shadow of a smile he flicked the cowl of his cloak up to cast his features in shadow and disappeared leaving Thor to stare helplessly at the empty space left behind. Squaring his shoulders as he looked out on the frozen wastes of Jötunheimr, Loki lifted his chin and pulled his cloak closer as he began walking. There would be time to mourn his friendship with Thor once he ensured Hiccup's safety he told himself as he strode into the heart of the Jötunheimr wastes.

* * *

Hours later he found himself breathing hard as he slowed his run to a walk as he entered the clearing where his grandson lay sleeping on the ground with the Night's Fury resting quietly beside him. Crouching down next to them he let a small bag slide from his hands to land with a muted thud on the soft sand as he brushed a kiss along a brow smooth with sleep. Pushing himself back to his feet with a wince at the crack of joints, he looked up to meet amber eyes that glowed in the darkness as the dragon yawned widely. "They will be coming for me soon." He whispered, his voice steady even with the knowledge of his coming punishment stirring his blood with power in anticipation of the fight to come. "I will not have him bound by the same chains that bind me to my fate. Hide him; keep him safe for me until such a time as I can return. If you are in danger of being found take him to his father but only as a last resort."

"How long is he to remain in my care?"

"He may well be a man before I am able to return. Thor will come to check on you both and to ensure that you've kept your vow." Pulling a small dagger from his belt, he sliced open one of his fingertips and allowed the first droplets of blood to fall to the ground below in sacrifice before reaching out and tracing runes along the face of his grandson. "Thor will keep my secret if only to protect Hiccup who out of everyone is the only true innocent in this entire mess. " Sighing as the dragon rumbled at him he frowned down at the line of runes etched across the still soft features of childhood. "I will not rely on Thor's protection or upon his sense of what is fair to protect the last of my human line. He will be left with the strongest of protections that I can give him."

"Loki," the dragon growled the words as sharp teeth popped back into view while his tail swished agitatedly. "Humans aren't meant for the power of the Gods."

Eyes glowing in the darkness Loki smiled as he traced the last of the runes before allowing his power to trail through the lines drawn in blood. "Humans are indeed too frail to contain the power of a God but _this_ child—_my_ child is stronger than that. I only awaken that which is his to claim by right of blood."

"My sire will not be happy that you are giving your strength to a child."

"I am doing nothing but ensuring that he survives where his mother did not. It is bad enough that I failed her in her time of need but I will not allow her child to suffer for the actions of a woman who should have known better than to act and expect that there would be no consequences." Loki countered as the runes flared with a mix of blue and red flames before settling into the child's skin and disappearing from sight. "I am well aware of the limits of my strengths, and while escaping from the All-Father's eye is not within my capabilities at the moment, I can still offer this protection. He will need all the protections that I can spare him so that he'll survive this as well as can be asked of him."

"I believe that he is what the humans would call a hatchling which is far too young for what you do now but I suppose that if he carries your blood and power within your veins then this will not harm him." The dragon admitted grudgingly as he brought the child closer to his body before settling a wing over the sleeping boy to keep the chill of the night away. "Dawn will be here within a few hours. Even with my sire protecting you I do not think you have much time left before they find you and take you away to Asgard."

"Oh Asgard will not be where they imprison me nor will it be where they stand and watch as Odin casts judgment upon me." Laughing softly at the dragon's near palpable air of disbelief the God hastened to explain. "I've taken from Frigg one of her children as recompense for the child she stole from me. Odin will not see me in Asgard. In taking me to Asgard he would have to name both Frigg and I as Outcast for the crimes that we have committed. I know that he will not have me executed because he is aware that I have only acted to avenge the life of my child but his heart will not allow him to be lenient in his punishment because I have wronged him just as surely as I have taken justice from Frigg. I expect that whatever punishment he has concocted for me will be horrific so as to assuage the grief he feels for the wrong I have done him."

"Then why not take the hatchling and run?"

"I could run. I could even take him with me but there would be no life to be found in an existence of running." The God replied his eyes fixed on the sleeping child, his fingers running through soft hair almost absently. "I cannot take any more from him than what has already been taken. He'll be safe here with you and I will find solace through the years of punishment that await me with just the knowledge that somewhere on Midgard he is thriving."

"Thriving and far more happy than leaving him with his father would have ever allowed. He won't be judged because he is not what they expect from a Viking. He can grow into his powers and learn to accept them without the fear of being seen as different. I think it is all his mother could have wished for. I will accept my punishment because in doing so I spare him from sharing his mother's fate."


End file.
